


Sixteen Candles

by Amikotsu



Category: Naruto
Genre: Awkward Crush, Awkward Dates, Birthday, Birthday Fluff, Boys Kissing, Crushes, Cupcakes, First Kiss, KakaObi Week 2020, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-19
Updated: 2020-02-19
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:34:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22807918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amikotsu/pseuds/Amikotsu
Summary: The tenth of February was a hard time for Obito. His birthday meant very little to him. And then Minato presented him with a cupcake and his heart soared, and he wished for the one thing he wanted most in the world. He wished for Rin. What did he get? Kakashi.
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi/Uchiha Obito
Comments: 2
Kudos: 124
Collections: KakaObi Week 2020





	Sixteen Candles

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: Birthday

He hated February, when the cold crept along the Land of Fire. It wasn't as cold as it could have been, but the mornings started cold, and sometimes it stayed for the entire day. He hated February, when no one acknowledged his birthday, when he spent the whole day holed up in his tiny apartment, eating sweets until he felt like he would barf. Another year passed, and he lived, without really living. Sadness was a Kakashi thing; depression was a Kakashi thing. But February dragged him down, eating away at him until the month ended and he finally resumed, seamlessly blending right into his environment, pretending that he hadn't spent over twenty days dwelling on what should have been the most cheerful day in the year. Everyone knew he didn't have parents; everyone knew he was nothing special, not exceedingly smart or strong. There was nothing to celebrate, except the fact that he'd survived, and he told himself that was enough. 

He smiled a lot. He smiled so much that he thought his face would split open. He smiled because he didn't want to worry anyone; he smiled for them instead of for himself, and no one ever complained. Sometimes he helped people -- alright, he always helped people -- and sometimes those people gave him money or candy or praises, and he basked in the attention, because someone acknowledged his actions and rewarded him. On Team Minato, he only had Rin, and she spent a lot of time focused on Kakashi, despite the fact that Obito wanted nothing more than for her to show him every ounce of that attention and affection. He was important to her, but not that important, and it hurt a lot. In February, he felt the sting even more. She didn't know it was his birthday. He hadn't bothered to tell her. Some part of him didn't want people to pick at his scabs. He didn't want to see the pity in her eyes when he admitted that he was ten years old, one year older than before, one year stronger and smarter and faster, but never enough.

He was late to practice again, but his team had given up on his half-told truths as excuses. He brushed a hand through his messy hair and yawned. The tenth of February had already sunk its claws deep into him. There was no hope for survival. And then Minato popped out of nowhere and Obito was clumsily juggling a kunai, ready to fight off attackers. He looked stupid -- he felt just as stupid.

"Sorry, Obito. I forgot how jumpy you can be," Minato apologized, offering one of his bright smiles. Obito laughed in response, as if his heart weren't pounding in his chest. "Today is going to be a special day."

"What's so special about today, sensei?" Rin had her hands clasped behind her back and she rocked on her feet. She was beautiful, as usual, and suddenly Obito's heart stopped racing; he was exhausted again. 

"Today, we're celebrating Obito's birthday!" 

Kakashi and Rin turned to look at Obito and Obito withered under their gazes. Of course Minato had read his file; of course his good-hearted sensei meant to surprise him, to make a joyous day out of something ugly. His clansmen had already mocked him, shaking him down for the money he had, holding him down to the ground to grope at his pockets for the money he hadn't given them. He didn't want to celebrate. The last thing he wanted was to plaster on a smile, but he did. He gave a hurried apology and waved off Rin's worry, because he didn't know what else to do. Kakashi had a weird glint in his eyes, something Obito couldn't really describe. The boy's gaze made him uncomfortable, so he forced laughter and rubbed the back of his head, lying to them, deceiving them. Obito had a feeling he hadn't fooled Kakashi. Kakashi saw everything, knew everything, as if he existed just to tear Obito down.

"Happy birthday, Obito!" Rin threw her arms around him and hugged him, the first hug he'd had in months, and it was her, so he treasured it. He closed his eyes and squeezed her close, until she finally laughed and pulled away. They were friends, nothing more, and yet he wanted so much more. "Don't you want to say something, Kakashi?" Rin smiled at Kakashi, the smile that Obito dreamt about more than he wanted to admit.

"Not really," Kakashi said, shrugging his shoulders. He turned to Minato then. "Are we going to have practice today?"

"No, but I want you to stay. I brought something for Obito," Minato said, moving his hands from behind his back. The man had brought a single cupcake, the lone candle burning atop the treat. Minato extended the cupcake and Obito took it and treasured it in the way that he'd treasured Rin's hug. "Happy birthday, Obito. I know we're all proud to have you on the team. Kushina is sorry she couldn't make it, but she told me to remind you to make a wish, so make a wish, Obito. What do you want more than anything?"

Kakashi snorted and Obito's fragile smile slowly vanished, replaced by annoyance. Obito scowled at Kakashi, daring the boy to say something to him, wanting nothing more than to wipe the blank expression off with a solid right hook. Instead, Kakashi looked at the tiny candle, the flame dancing in the breeze.

"The wax is getting on your icing."

"No!"

"Make a wish, Obito!" 

Rin cheered him on, so he looked at her for a moment, then he closed his eyes and blew out the candle. The next thing he knew, Kakashi brushed past him and their shoulders brushed. The harsh bump was enough for Obito to lose his hold on the cupcake. Obito tried to catch the cupcake, but his fingers slid over the icing. When the cupcake landed in the grass, Obito felt something in him crack. He whirled around and lashed out, his kick meeting Kakashi's left arm guard. Kakashi tried to punch him, but he ducked and tackled Kakashi. Not expecting that, they both hit the ground hard. In a puff of smoke, Obito found himself on top of a log. Furious, Obito scanned the area for Kakashi. When he found him, he heard Minato telling them to stop fighting, telling them that it's supposed to be a team moment, and the next thing he knew, he was falling. For some reason, he thought of his wish. All he'd wanted was one date with Rin, just one date, just a chance to get her to look at him the way she looked at Kakashi.

He found himself seated in a booth at Yakiniku, a menu in his hands. Confused, he lowered the menu, trying to wrap his head around how he could have gone from the training grounds to Yakiniku, unless the whole thing had been one vivid dream. Frowning, Obito finally had a clear view of the person sitting across from him, and he did not like the person he saw in that seat. Obito slammed the menu down on the table, ready to argue with Kakashi, but Kakashi actually smiled at him, and he found himself fighting for words. He choked on spit and ended up having a coughing fit to clear his airway. And the whole time, Kakashi was asking him if he was alright, as if Kakashi actually gave a damn about him. It was February; no one really cared about him in February. Kakashi didn't care about him for the other eleven months either, so he wrote it off as normal behavior. The concern had him waving his hands, trying to get Kakashi to quiet down, since everyone suddenly found their table so exciting. He didn't want people thinking they were on some kind of date.

"What the hell are we doing here? Where's Rin? Where's sensei? Stop smiling at me, damn you, it's creepy. You look weird!" Obito slapped a palm down on the table. 

"You asked me to come here with you, remember? It's your birthday," Kakashi replied, rolling his eyes. Obito would accept that expression, he decided. Kakashi was still a prick, so the world was alright again. "Do you want to leave?"

Obito thought he saw hurt in Kakashi's eyes, but he could have been mistaken. Kakashi had no heart. Kakashi was a demon hell bent on making his life miserable. He should have seized the chance to go, but he mumbled out a _no_ and they both went back to their menus. Every few seconds, Obito looked up from the menu to gauge Kakashi's enjoyment. At the end, Kakashi caught him and winked. Butterflies erupted in Obito's stomach and he spent several moments destroying that feeling. Kakashi was a demon; Kakashi did _not_ give him butterflies. Obito gripped the menu all the way up until the waitress pried it from his hands. He didn't remember ordering, so Kakashi must have ordered for the both of them. Obito didn't have the strength to argue over something so trivial. Without the menus, he openly stared at Kakashi.

"What is it?"

"I only invited you?"

"Did you want to invite someone else on our date?"

Date. The word crushed Obito into thousands of tiny pieces and then embarrassment put him back together again. He sat there, mouth ajar, trying to think of something other than the butterflies and the blush on his cheeks. Kakashi smiled again, clearly amused at Obito's response. Obito finally closed his mouth, jaw snapping shut at once, then he found something interesting on the small grill. And Kakashi continued smiling, as if Obito had told some kind of great joke. Why the hell would he ask Kakashi on a date? That thought circled around and around until their food arrived. With something to distract him, Obito focused on grilling their food. Every time their hands brushed, Obito felt a little more delirious.

"Look at me," Kakashi finally said, causing Obito to overcook his food. He couldn't hide behind the charred remains of his pepper, so he looked up. "Is something wrong?"

"I asked you on a date?" Obito didn't understand. Face scrunched, he tried to imagine a scenario where he would ever invite Kakashi out on a date. Kakashi was a demon. He had to remember that. "I thought," he trailed off, blushing again, "I thought I'd ask Rin, you know? I'm sorry. I guess I didn't expect this. You, ah, you're not, you know, um, terrible? I just thought you hated me. You always say mean things to me, like I'm never good enough."

Kakashi's smile faded, as if Obito had hit a sore spot, as if their roles had been reversed. Obito thought about apologizing again, but Kakashi made a noncommittal sound. "So this was a mistake. For the record, I don't hate you. I might go about it the wrong way, but I'm pushing you. There's nothing wrong with who you are, Obito. I can stop?"

"It's not a mistake! I just, I mean, I'm not," Obito struggled, looking away from Kakashi's patient face. The Kakashi he knew would have rushed him along. He didn't understand. "You look nice. Not that you don't look nice every day! You do. I'm just really bad at this. I don't understand. I wished for a date with Rin and now I don't know what I'm doing. Do you like me? Is that it?"

"Do you want to get out of here and talk?"

"Yes! Please."

They both slid out of the booth. Obito turned to face Kakashi, trying to apologize again, when someone bumped into him. He saw the cupcake falling again, even as he fell right into Kakashi. He ended up in Kakashi's arms, lips awkwardly positioned over Kakashi's masked lips. Obito flailed for a minute, then he finally pulled away. He thought he felt Kakashi respond to the kiss, so he panicked, which quickly turned into anger. He knew the kiss wasn't intentional on his part, but Kakashi had kissed him back! 

"What are you doing? I didn't mean to kiss you! You, you kissed me! I don't like you! Gross!" 

As Obito ranted, Kakashi drew him in again. Obito watched in awe as Kakashi lowered the mask hiding his face. Kakashi was handsome, extremely so, but Obito wasn't going to swoon like some preteen girl. Kakashi placed a hand on Obito's cheek and pressed a kiss to Obito's lips. Obito did _not_ mean to kiss Kakashi back, but it was a natural reaction. Instead of pulling away, he stilled and focused on the way their lips felt together. Absently, he noted that Kakashi was a damn good kisser. And then everything in his little world shattered. They stood there, Kakashi calmly taking in Obito's building panic. Slowly, the restaurant around them faded, until they were left standing in the darkness. Obito thought of February again; he thought of the cold and of the sadness he associated with the month. He didn't mean to, but he thought of the ruined cupcake, the one attempt at making his day brighter. And Kakashi had ruined it. 

"He's coming to. You put way too much into that new genjutsu, sensei!" Obito opened his eyes to see Rin kneeling over him. Her smile eased the ache in his chest, killing off the remaining butterflies. He still felt Kakashi's lips on his. "Did you get your wish, Obito?"

"I don't know. Where's Kakashi?" Obito tried to see around her, so she stood up. She extended a hand to Obito and helped him to his feet. Kakashi stood next to Minato, both of them deep in conversation. "Oi, Bakashi. What was your genjutsu? Hey! I'm talking to you!"

"It was me strangling you for calling me that name," Kakashi said, seemingly unbothered by Obito's close proximity. Obito leaned into Kakashi's personal space, but the boy didn't budge. "Was your dream about Rin satisfying? You kept kissing the air, loser."

"Shut up! It wasn't about Rin!" Obito reached out and grabbed Kakashi's shirt, then he slammed his mouth down over Kakashi's. The kiss was awkward because of the mask, but Obito didn't care. He pulled back and smirked at Kakashi's shocked face. "Stole your first kiss, bastard!"

Killing intent flooded the training ground, halting Obito's laughter. He took one look at Kakashi's murderous expression and ran away. He slipped on the fallen cupcake, but he quickly righted himself and took off, a pissed off Kakashi hot on his heels. He thought he heard Minato mutter about preteens and hormones, but he didn't stop to hear more. Eventually, Kakashi caught him, and they ended up on the ground again, scrapping like two little kids. February seemed a little warmer, a little fuller. And then he stole Kakashi's second kiss, and the tenth of February quickly became his favorite day of the year.


End file.
